sanlorenzo | (no subject)

[ It probably isn't safe to let herself get this close to someone again.

Scratch that: she knows it isn't safe to let herself get this close to someone again. That has become the constant in Asgard for her - everyone else leaves, but she stays. Most of the time, Jade doesn't care. Knowing them for a little while is better than having never known them at all, and just because those friendships are lost doesn't mean that they're meaningless.

Other times, though, the loss of it still stings. Especially now, as she and Ellie sneak through the carnival in Hel's district. It's night, past curfew, but no one in the city patrol bothers to actually check this place, and Jade knows everyone in the guard personally, anyway. It's a perk that comes with being one of the most tenured travelers in the city. ]

Have you ever been to the top of one of these things?

[ She's pausing next to the ferris wheel, touching her hand on the rusted metal as she glances up. Jade is oddly pensive, but there's a stubborn set to her shoulders, as if she refuses to admit it even about herself. ]

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"--wait, why am I closing my eyes?"

Jade leans in, too, playfully bumping their noses together.

"I want to see you."

"Because you're being cute again and it's distracting as hell, and-"

Ellie almost, almost starts stammering, before she reaches out and takes her by the arms, pressing her lips to hers. She doesn't pull away right off.

It's a lot different than kissing Draco, she thinks, and then flushes a little at how unbidden - and unfair - that comparison is. When Ellie lingers, so does Jade; carefully, as if she's afraid of spooking her, she reaches up and gently touches the side of her face, just her fingertips resting against her cheek.

Jade's lips are soft. And warm. She's missed kissing someone, and she lingers in, surprised by the touch. She reaches up to cover her hand with her own, gripping her fingers.

She rests their foreheads together for a minute, eyes mostly closed.

"Been wanting to try that for a while."

"And it never occurred to you to maybe tell me?"

There's nothing harsh or judgmental about her words. It's the opposite, in fact - Jade's tone is soft, fond, and she has to actively resist the urge to lean forward and bridge the gap between them, to kiss her again.

"Maybe we could've tried it way, way earlier."

Yep. Teasing.

"Didn't know you liked me back. Who wants to be that girl, right-?"

She trails off again, moves closer. Then she kisses the tip of her nose, leans in to kiss her again, more playful this time, less cautious.

She clasps her fingers around Jade's, holding her hand.

"Well, for future reference- I am totally okay with you being that girl. At least with me. Mostly only with me, actually, but-"

It's murmured against Ellie's lips, even as she twists her hand to twine their fingers together. As cavalier as she's playing it, there's a flush on her face; this really, really isn't how she saw the night going, but she's not complaining.

Well.

She pulls back, breaking the kiss long enough to just scrunch her nose thoughtfully at her.

"--you're sure you're not cursed, right?"

Ellie scrunches her nose back, grinning. She seems to be unable to stop grinning, even if being the one caught off-guard is throwing off her mostly-cool track record.

"I will take it under advisement," she responds, affecting an accent before snorting at her.

"And that depends on who you ask."